This trip sound like fun, now I need to go read about your other trip. (I can tell I'm not going to get any work done tonight)

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Oh if you think this one sounds like fun....you gotta check out the first trip report. Although I wasn't laughing at some of the things when they were happening, I can now laugh out loud at our mishaps.

This post is going to have a lot of history and no pictures. You'll find that I am a detail person and I like to talk. I also love it when readers chime it. I've made a lot of really good friends here on the boards so feel free to post comments.

During our 2008 trip to Disney, we took a day to visit the Wilderness Lodge and Pop Century as those were two resorts that we thought we might want to stay in one day.

While the Wilderness Lodge was pretty, it didn't impress us like we thought it would. I guess since we live in a log home and our home is decorated similarly to the WL, we weren't that awestruck.

We also drove over to Pop Century. It had a fun quirky feel to it and we were impressed by the resort.

During our long drive home, we decided that we'd give Pop Century a try. I booked the vacation just weeks after we got home from our 2008 trip.

When I booked our 2009 vacation, the plan was that it would be just John, Hunter and myself. Lacey hadn't gotten to go with us on vacation in two years because of her missionary work. This year would be no different.

I also booked the vacation with no discounts. Imagine my surprise when Disney extended the buy 4/get 3 free promo to include our August dates. I immediately called Disney and had them apply the code to our reservation. Saved us a lot of money.

I made lots and lots and lots of payments on the vacation using my ebay seller money. I didn't have to take any money out of "our" money. Ebay is my hero!

Lacey's mission group were attending a Christian concert/conference in Orlando and she talked them into going to Downtown Disney on their down time. She caught the Disney bug and wanted to go back. Without telling us, she started working her magic with the mission leaders to take time off and go to Disney with us. The mission college is not like a typical college. Yes, they do take college courses but they also have do do "x" amount of missionary work per week. Also, since she is working off part of her tuition by being children's church pastor, she had to line up enough lessons and find somebody to fill in for her. When she finally got permission, she called us up and asked what it would take to add her to the vacation.

I can't tell you how excited we were that Lacey was going to come along with us. We are a tight family and every time we go anywhere without her, we feel sad.

I called Disney and found out that it'd cost just $660.00 to add her to the reservation. I was still scared that the mission leaders would change their minds so I waited until almost the last minute to add her.

Then, John and I were outside playing with our dog, Oddball (I've need to find a picture of him to add.) and Hunter. We sat down on the back porch swing and started doubting our resort choice. We had always had concerns about the bus situation and the room size but now that Lacey was coming along we REALLY had room size concerns. After talking it over, I went in and got the phone to call Disney to see if we could change rooms.

I knew it was going to be a longshot because the buy 4/get 3 promo had expired long ago. Still, it was worth a try. The first call did no good. The second call did no good. I think I am remembering that I made one more call that afternoon. Nothing! Ugh! Oh well, we were still going to Disney and it'd work out.

Well, I've already told you I've worked in the legal field for 26 years and I have numerous Disney trips under my belt, so I knew that you could call ten times and get a different answer each time. On my way home from work the next day, I decided to give it just one more try. Just one more. If it didn't work, so sad. If it did work, yipee!

I took a totally different approach on the last ditch effort. I immediately said something like......"I sure hope you can help me. I want to upgrade my resort and even though I know the promo has expired, I do want to change. I will be spending more money so surely you'll try to help me out." The castmember asked me if I was ready to change right now and I said absolutely. She asked if I could hold and I told her of course. I held for just a little while and she came back to say that we could upgrade and still use the buy 4/get 3 free promo! I was so happy, I almost pee'd my pants.

So, our reservation was no longer for Pop Century but for our very favorite Caribbean Beach Resort. All I had to pay was an extra $450.00 for 9 nights. Not bad at all!

I told John what I was able to do and we decided not to tell Hunter or Lacey about upgrading our resort. Hunter has stayed at the CBR three times and Lacey had stayed there once. We knew that Hunter would be super duper pooper scooper stoked about staying at the CBR. Lacey really doesn't care where we stay. She has slept on cots, on floors, in churches, in shelters, etc. etc. She would be happy that she had a bed and an air conditioner.

Just about two weeks before our arrival date, we added Lacey to the reservation. Now, we were all set to go. All I had to do was buy a few last minute items.

Gosh, I gotta get busy and post some pictures or my readers and potential posters are going to think this report is too boring to read.

My last day at work was pretty hectic. Thank goodness Lacey, John and Hunter were at home to get the last minute things ready for the trip.

The day before the trip, I started packing the luggage and realized that we needed more luggage. I've always been able to get mine and Hunter's stuff into one suitcase but it seems like I won't be able to do that anymore. Around 9:30 p.m., we made a run to WalMart to get a suitcase. I got back home and packed everything up. Now, we wondered, will all of the luggage fit in the trunk of the car?

We decided to make a trial trunk packing run. We got everything in and were laughing about how in the world we were going to remember how we got in all in. Why take it out? Hum? Yeah, why even take it out? We left it all in there with the exception of our "last minute" bag. You know, the kind of stuff you can't throw in until the last minute because you've gotta use it right before you leave.

I had to work until 5:00 p.m. and was getting really stressed out waiting on one client to come by, review her paperwork and sign it. I swore if she made any changes, I was going to pull every last hair from her head because that'd make me later than 5:00 p.m. leaving work. Wouldn't you know she wouldn't show up until the last minute! But, at least, she had no changes. Little did she know that she should be thankful that she wasn't bald.

A few minutes after 5:00 p.m., I was outta the office and on my way home to my waiting family. When I got home, everything was waiting on the snack bar.

The family threw the last minute bag in the back, put the snack bag in the back seat and the kids' backpacks. In the meantime, I changed from my dress clothes to shorts and a Minnie t-shirt.

While I was in our bedroom, I took a picture of our now fully marked off Countdown Calendar.

I told John to pop the trunk of the car because I needed to take a picture of everything in there. He didn't mind at all. He even turned the luggage so you'd see the Mickey on them.

We gave Mamaw (my mother lives right next door) hugs and told Oddball goodbye and we were on the road at 5:40 p.m. Disney here we come! Oh, I guess I should give you the date.....Wednesday, August 5, 2009.

I made a bet that the kids wouldn't last 20 minutes without taking out the portable DVD player. Did they last that long? Absolutely not, by the time we hit the interstate (a whopping 10 minutes), the DVD player was out.

Here are some pictures of us in our "we're so excited to be leaving" mode.

Now, before I post this picture of me...I've got to explain that we had the Pirates of the Caribbean CD in and I was singing Yo Ho! Yo Ho! A Pirates Life for Me! The kids were laughing their heads off at me. That's why I'm looking in the rear view mirror with my mouth open:

I know how worried you were about Pop and even though I love the values and it would have been fine, I am so glad you got to change over to CBR. $450 for nine nights isn't bad at all! What I really miss at Pop is the double sinks, free frig, and the ceiling fan. To me the bedroom area size isn't that big of a deal, its the small bathroom sink area that kills us. And no privacy curtain! After nine nights at ASMU in June, I am not sure we can do a value again. Sorry to go on and on, but just know, you won't miss that $450 nearly as much as you'd miss two sinks!

You and John sound like me and Dan. Dan proposed to me after only three weeks of dating and we were married six months later. Funny thing, my biggest naysayers are all divorced now and we have been married 18 years!

I can't wait to read the next installment, we are camping this weekend so I won't be able to read until Sunday!

Great TR so far Lisa!!! I love reading your stories, they are so entertaining & full of all the little details!!! I have a Disney CD I made for my car & I play it almost everyday. It's all songs from the parks/rides! I love it!!!! Can't wait to read more!

Love the start of this trip. You didn't see me but I was in that Mickey bag in the trunk. And Mel was on top. I don't think our ride was as much fun as yours. I sang every word with you.

Have a great Friday. I bet you are glad you are off early today. That first week back is hard.

Ginny

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She's right, Lisa! It took me all week to get the bugs out of my teeth, but Ginny and I had a wonderful time! Look carefully in your pictures, you'll probably see us in the background. We were with you every step of the way!

I'm subscribing! I can't wait to hear all about your trip! It looks like mine will be postponed till 2010 but I can get my fix now from your report! This picture makes me laugh. It looks just like our counter before we leave on a trip. We totally take Dr. Thunder with us too! Can't wait to read more!